Bistro Jeanty (06.18.11)

I have to start by saying that I can't write a fair review on Bistro Jeanty as I was a bit under the weather that night. An allergy attack earlier in the day had left me all sniffly and congested so I have to put that out there.

Creme de tomate en croute was good. The puff pastry very flaky and the soup had a nice tartness to it that cut the heaviness of the creme.

Escargots were buttery and buttery and utterly delicious! I love me some butter and I love love love garlic so this was a perfect combo for me. The bread they brought was perfect for the garlic butter left over from the escargot.

Terrine de lapin was good but not outstanding.

Epaule de porc was very tender and a good size portion for the price. This dish did not disappoint. I didn't want anything too heavy and it was just right. The brussel sprouts added that nice bitter tinge to it that really brought out the sweetness in the pork.

Flat iron steak was the special of the day served on a bed of risotto. The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare with a pat of butter on top and a very generous serving of risotto.

Daube de boeuf featured a very nice tender portion of beef with mashed potatoes, carrots and peas. My hubby ordered this and he loved the beef. Didn't care for the potatoes so he left those for sicky me who loves the taters.

Entrecote frites was your standard preparation. Great french fries. The meat was cooked just right but nothing special enough to write home about.

A good meal...I will have to return to try again when I'm feeling better.

750 ml (South Pasadena)

So the hubby and I were looking for a place to have a nice anniversary dinner. We celebrate like 3 anniversaries but that's neither here nor there. This year was our 10th year wedding anniversary, 11th year of knowing each other and 3rd year since the wedding. It's complicated...

Anyway, so we look for a place to try and my coworker had been browsing for a date night spot for him and his wife a few weeks ago and mentioned 750 ml. We are both foodies (my coworker and I) and knowing that this was a wine bar/bistro had both our mouths watering.

So I book the reservation for 6:30 pm on Thursday and LA was hit by some insane weather...rain, hail, tornadoes, etc. It was crazy! I work on the west side and it took me 2 hours to get to downtown LA and another 1.5 hours to get home since I hopped off the freeway and took surface streets. Needless to say I had to change our reservation and they were very nice and accommodating. By the time I got home all I wanted was a glass of wine and some good eats.

We drive to 750 ml and it's a quaint little spot right by the railroad tracks. We walk in and I was surprised by how casual the place was. The website I had visited had said casual elegant and I expected a much fancier place but it was very French in that it was dark with little bistro tables (even the light bulbs were different) a small bar and just very cozy. We were offered a seat by the window next to another couple but I wanted a little more privacy so I asked if we could be seated a little bit away on the other side of the alcove right by the window also. They were so nice and obliged.

The menu was very simple...starters and finishers (translated: appetizers and main courses). They had a wine list on a single sheet of paper, front and back, and they carried a lot of lesser known wines. We are used to California, particularly Napa wines, but they carried lots of foreign wines that we were not familiar with (French, Portuguese, Argentinia, Spain, etc.). No worries...we let the server know what dishes we were going to order and she kindly made suggestions on wines...which by the way went perfectly with the food.

I ordered the lamb prosciutto dish as a starter with the French burgundy. My hubby started with the soft shell crab dish and an Italian verdicchio. My prosciutto came with fresh house-made burrata, some micro greens and plantain chips. The prosciutto was very lamb-y but the burrata was very good. And it was very well paired with the burgundy. Hubby's soft-shell crab was fried and served with mango, plantain chips and a nice sauce. His went perfectly with the verdicchio.

For the finishers, we ordered the Alaskan halibut and the Kobe steak frites. The wines were just switched around this time as I was having the fish and he the red meat. My halibut was served on a bed of pureed potatoes (very buttery) with diced wild mushrooms. The texture was nice and firm and when served, the fish had a nice slight crispness to the outside. The Kobe was very lean...surprising since Kobe's are known for their marbling throughout. His steak was cooked perfectly (medium rare); however, it did not seem like a Kobe...too lean. We both finished our finishers and then came the dessert menu.

The dessert menu was more of a cheese menu with a few dessert selections thrown in. There were lots of cheese options and since neither of us were really big cheese eaters, we just moved on to the dessert section. Not very much to choose from...panna cotta with peach and blueberries, bread pudding and chocolate cake with ice cream. We opted for the chocolate cake but were a little disappointed. It tasted like it had been baked with way too much chocolate and the exterior was a little too hard. Not enough ice cream in my opinion.

All in all, it was good to have tried it. We now know where to go in case we really crave steak frites (since the Crepe Vine Bistro can no longer provide hot foods due to the multiple fires in their kitchen). I would say give it a try but be prepared to spend a good amount of $$$ since it is not cheap. You only live once, right? Bon appetit!

La Vie Restaurant (San Gabriel)

In a little nondescript strip mall in San Gabriel is a little gem of a French restaurant. You would never guess that it's there but it's a hidden treasure. The hubby and I found out about it from his sister. She'd never been but her friends had told her about it. I have to say that this is one of those neighborhood places that you hear about but never go to because you don't believe that it can be that good. I'm glad that we threw caution to the wind and gave it a try.
Here are some of the dishes that we've tried: escargots; shrimp and avocado salad; duck dish; filet mignon; rack of lamb; lamb roast; sea bass; rabbit stew; coq au vin; trout meuniere; creme brulee and souffle.
The names are not all correct but I haven't been for a while now so I'm trying to give the best description.
Escargot: cooked in butter, butter and more butter. There's also garlic. The sauce is great for dipping the bread that they serve. This is a must-try dish!
Shrimp and avocado salad: The dressing tasted like it was thousand island. The dish was good but you don't have to order salad since your entree is served with soup, salad and tea or coffee.
Duck: Mon dieu! For those of you who like duck, you will love this dish. The skin comes crispy and the meat is tender. The sauce has a hint of orange, not too much and the entree is served with haricots vert, carrot puree and pommes de terre dauphinois. The potatoes are like scalloped potatoes only richer.
Filet Mignon: The steak is good but not superb like a steakhouse steak. Don't come in expecting Ruth's Chris or Morton's quality.
Rack of Lamb/Lamb Roast: Both lamb dishes are good if you like lamb, but if you don't you may want to try something else. The lamb is very lamb-y (for lack of a better term). The rack is served with the meat sliced off the bones already the pre-requisite French sides (haricots vert, carrot puree, potatoes dauphinois).
Sea Bass: This was a very disappointing dish. It was one of the specials of the night. My hubby is a huge Chilean Sea Bass fan and decided to try it. He commented that it's really hard to mess up sea bass but they managed to do it. We know to not order it in the future.
Rabbit Stew This was also surprisingly good. The rabbit is fall-off-the-bone tender and was a little on the salty side for me, but I think it was just an off night.
Coq au vin: I ordered this the last time we were there. The sauce was delicious and although I have nothing to compare this to I trust my friend who is a French aficionado. She had some of my coq and she said that the taste was very authentic.
Trout Meuniere: This is not on the regular menu and is available as a special only whenever they have it in stock (which is not very often). I don't normally order fish in non-Asian restaurants as they tend to not be very fresh. I was very surprised at how fresh and tasty the dish was. I had a whole trout that was deboned and the brown sauce was very good.
Creme Brulee: Nice and creamy but not too heavy. It has just the right amount of sweetness. This is always a good choice and La Vie does not disappoint.
Souffle: Even if you're not a big souffle fan, you have to order this. Lots of restaurants offer souffle but not all do quite as authentic a job as La Vie. There is only one flavor (Grand Marnier) and you must order it before your dinner is served since they make this from scratch. It is light and airy and just sweet enough. The texture is different from the other souffles...it is not heavy at all. They serve this with milk poured into it and it is FABULOUS!

The place is very non-pretentious and not very fancy. There are lots of repeat customers (the restaurant has been there for 8+ years) and their wine list is limited. But, although the list is limited, they do not gouge you with the price. All their wines are not super marked up and that's very nice since you don't find too many places like that anymore. Give it a shot if you're in the area and want to try something different.